Impact of quality of life outcomes on clinical practice.

This paper reviews the current status of translation of quality of life outcomes from research to clinical practice. A major barrier in this process is the lack of mature results from quality of life studies in phase III randomized controlled trials. As more trials are completed, we can expect the diffusion of those results into clinical practice and decision making. Further, as quality of life measurement tools are used more widely and become more user-friendly, we can anticipate their adoption in the routine clinical assessment of patients in the oncologist's practice.